BOJAYÁ: CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE
CO-PRODUCER & ADDITIONAL CAMERA
On May 2, 2002, government-sponsored paramilitaries entered the region of Bojayá, Colombia, setting off a conflict with FARC guerrillas in the area. The paramilitaries used the community as human shields. Those caught in the crossfire sought shelter in a local church, which FARC then bombed. More than 79 innocent civilians, mostly women and children, were killed, making it the worst massacre in Colombia's 50-year conflict. In this explosive documentary, we follow one of the survivors, Chocó community leader Leyner Palacios Asprilla, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee who lost 32 relatives in the massacre. As the FARC now demobilize in the region, they open the door for other armed groups to rise and clear a path for the exploitation of resources and illegal drug trafficking. We follow Palacios as he reconstructs the past and moves forward in his dangerous mission to ensure key elements of the peace deal are implemented for the safety of his people.
